A question about shipping

[CapeCodTenor]

If you ordered something around noon, wouldn't you expect it to be shipped that day? During my lunch hour yesterday, I bought a Sirius Satellite radio and paid a little extra to have it shipped 2 day ground. I thought, "This is great, I should have it by the weekend." Well, I just checked online and I didn't see a UPS tacking number, so I called to find out what it was. I was told by the young lady I spoke to that it hadn't been shipped yet, and that if it wasn't shipped today, it would be shipped in the next day or so. What?!?!?! I don't get it. Why would I pay and extra $14 to have my radio sent 2 day ground, and then have to possibly wait up to 48 hours before it shipped? I don't get it, can someone please explain this to me.

 

[rgf207]

Ah, the biggest misconseption. The 2 day ground you payed for is not 2 days from when you order, it's 2 days from when it ships. Typically large companies receive the order and then process it. This can take from 2 hours to 48 hours depending on the amount of orders they get. Their system is automated. After the order is processed it gets sent to the warehouse where someone will read the order and enter it into the system, then get your item and package it. This can take another 24+ hours. They will then ship it. When they ship it, that does not mean that UPS or FedEx has it right then. Usually UPS or FedEX have scheduled pickup times maybe 1 or 2 times a day. So your package may not have been picked up until they close of that business day which coud be as much as 3 or 4 days after you place the order. Usually most companies do it all in 1 or 2 days.

There are not many companies that have a very quick turnaround. The one company that I order from is Newegg.com and they usually ship same day if you order by 3pm EST. I have waited as long as 1 week for shipping and then another week for delivery.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

I've never had a company wait a day or so to ship something...so I guess I'm just spoiled.

 

[LadyyRedd]

If you ordered something around noon, wouldn't you expect it to be shipped that day?

Honestly, no, not unless it said so specifically. I work for a large publishing company and any orders placed after 11:00am don't ship until the next day. Our last rush plan that downloads in the system is at noon, which only includes orders that were placed up until 11am.

Kimya

 

[druidia]

So was it 2 Day or Ground? Those are usually 2 different things. Ground is the lowest priority shipment. From the shipping process perspective, UPS drivers usually do their deliveries before 2:00 PM, then pickup packages after 2:00 PM; so it may not have been picked up before noon. They don't get back to the hub until evening, so it normally isn't sorted out until the twilight (~5P-9P) or midnight shift (~10P-2A), or sometimes even sunrise shift (~3A-7A). Then it hits the trailer for your city, and depending upon where it's going, it usually isn't an overnight travel to the final sortation hub. Once it reaches there, depending upon the time of day, it may or may not make it on your local package delivery car for delivery that day.

The only packages that you should reliably receive on a schedule are Next Day Air packages. Those are literally overnighted to/from the air hub in KY and out from there to their destination.